What is it like to feel something, without judgment, to simply experience it? To feel a sensation completely without any reservations? To be totally present in the moment with what is?Imagine feeling something without first having to categorize it, define it, interpret it, correct it, or criticize it. Imagine feeling... simply for the sake of feeling. Notice how long it's been since you totally, openly, and wholeheartedly experienced something.

For example, what's it like to feel the sensation of being human, human be-ing?

Like a child who gets to touch mud for the first time... he might rub it on his face... taste it... roll in it... bite it... stick it on things, in things... and joyfully explore mud! He isn't calling it "bad mud," "dirty mud," or "stupid mud." He's feeling it. He probably wouldn't think of mud as bad, stupid or dirty unless he had been taught that by someone else. Oops, here comes his big brother now, screaming, "You better get out of that stupid mud or mom is going to paddle your butt!"

Definitions handed down about mud.

Maybe there is a tribe somewhere that has decided mud is a sacred thing and the definitions they hand down contain ideas about how mud is filled with spirit, that it should be treated as the giver of life and never slandered. This tribe rubs mud all over their newborns and leaves it as a sign of protection and purity, until it wears off on its own.

So, who's right? Who has the right mud beliefs? We could argue about it. We could uncover many different viewpoints about mud. We could have research teams prove there are unhealthy components of mud. We could have scientists prove there are healthy qualities of the very same mud. We could even go to war over who has the better viewpoint.

We could divorce people who don't share our views on mud. We could divide into groups and see who could create the most followers to agree with their perspective (the largest group must be right, right?). We could even find a highly respected representative, someone in command of others' attention, and pay that person to skillfully prove the rightness of our viewpoint. Ahhhhh, success!

And for what? To be right?

How important are we making "being right"?

Perhaps the interpretations we place on mud are passed down much like our ideas about many other things, handed to us from someone who truly thought they knew. Someone who thought they were helping us survive. "Get away from that mud. You are going to get filthy!"

Where did you get your beliefs about mud? What about your beliefs regarding marriage, parenting, God, cooperating, making money, being healthy, sharing, or any idea you're investing in? Where did you get your beliefs about what love should look like or who to trust in the world?

DID YOU DECIDE to believe what you believe? DID YOU DECIDE to be the way you are? Or have you become a set of beliefs that were mostly handed to you?

An invitation to choose

As you enter this new year, I invite you to explore these questions. Feel, without judgment or expectation, which of your beliefs are serving you... making you a better person... making you happy so can create the life you want.

If anything scares you or stops you from being your beautiful self, apply Catch and Release and give yourself the freedom to choose (learn more in Chapter 4 of the Allowing Handbook). Begin this new year in an open way so success can come to you with loving, heart-filled grace. Life is waiting for you to say "yes!"